Fur or Brrr

Gitty Luria

If fur keeps animals warm enough to run around in the snow, it sure keeps us warm too!

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

N

ature’s Coat

The meteorologist predicted below-freezing temperatures for this morning. You bundle up with warm gloves, hat, and a scarf that you tie around your hood, hoping you’ll make it to school without freezing into a snowman. You turn the cold doorknob, and without having to pull, the door flies open with a strong, icy gust of wind. Five minutes into your walk, your fingers feel like they’ll fall off, as you bury them deeper in your coat pockets. Suddenly you hear a rustle and turn to see a squirrel munching on an acorn. He looks up at you for a moment and then calmly goes on enjoying his meal. “Aren’t you cold, little squirrel?” you ask through your chattering teeth. Mr. Squirrel doesn’t seem to care. You look at him and wonder: Isn’t he cold? If I’m freezing even in my thick coat, isn’t he cold without any coat?

Well, one — he isn’t cold. Because, two — he is wearing a coat! See that fluffy fur covering his body? That’s his coat. Hashem gave animals everything they need to survive in the climates they live in. So, when it’s freezing cold outside, their fur “coats” keep them warm. You may wonder: What about the summertime, then? Don’t they get overheated? That’s a good question! But just like Hashem keeps them warm in the wintertime by giving them thick fur, He keeps them cool in the summertime by thinning their fur.

So now, tell me — how do fur coats keep us warm? I think you’ve figured it out by now. If fur keeps animals warm enough to run around in the snow, it sure keeps us warm too!

Why Fur?

They say, “If you have a question, ask the source.” Who can be a better source than someone who’s been in the fur business for a few decades? Mrs. Friedman, of Friedman Furs, has been in the line virtually all her life. “My father manufactured leather, his specialty being leather belts for fur coats,” she starts. “Then my husband and I decided to open our own fur business, which we still operate today.

“Fur has two layers,” Mrs. Friedman explains. “There’s the fur, of course, and then there’s the leather, which holds all the fur together. With the leather blocking any cold air from reaching you, plus the soft fur keeping you warm and cozy, you can walk outside in the icy weathers and not feel anything!” Besides the coziness, of course.

You may have wondered why some wear their fur on the inside of their coats and why others wear it on the outside. Is there a “correct” way to wear it?

“Sometimes it’s a matter of taste,” says Mrs. Friedman. “Some like the soft fur against their bodies while others prefer the royal look of fur on the outside. Also, fur on the inside can be less expensive since the fur doesn’t have to be as perfect and less fur can be used. But there’s no right or wrong.” (Excerpted from Mishpacha Jr., Issue 696)